Vessel & Altar

"Their father gave them an inheritance along with their brothers." - Job 42:15

Sister, the reading names only the daughters. Jemimah, Keziah, and Kerenhappuch. The seven sons are counted and left unnamed. The daughters are called by name, described as beautiful, and given an inheritance along with their brothers.

In the world of the book, daughters seldom inherited when there were sons. Job does it anyway. The writer stops the story to record it. A woman's name and a woman's share are written down in the same verse, as if they mattered to the ending.

You are being filled so that something can be set on the table.

Many women carry names that are used up. Mom, Grandma, Mrs., the one who knows where things are. Nobody means harm by it. But a woman can go a long time without hearing the name she was given at birth said kindly. The book of Job stops to say three of them.

The psalm gives a plain prayer for the same reason. Lord, let your face shine on me. A face that shines is a face that recognizes. To be named, and to be looked at with pleasure, is part of what it means to be filled. The vessel does not just receive food. It receives a name and a share.

Say your own given name out loud today, slowly, as if someone who loved you were calling you. Then ask one person close to you to use it once, without the role attached.

Lord, you called the daughters of Job by name and gave them a share. Call me by mine, and let what fills me become something I can set out for others. Amen.